


but when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee

by mnemosyne_musings



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, spacewives, stormcage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-22 21:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnemosyne_musings/pseuds/mnemosyne_musings
Summary: River finds unexpected company in Stormcage
Relationships: The Doctor/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 41
Kudos: 243





	but when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee

With a loud crackle of vortex energy, River reappeared in her cell and staggered slightly to regain her balance. That had been an unusually rough ride. Travelling by vortex manipulator was never particularly smooth but that had been a bumpier landing than usual. Shrugging slightly, she glanced at the device which was now emitting a few tendrils of smoke before quickly unstrapping it and tossing it on to her bed. She would have a look at it a bit later but first she needed a shower and a change of clothes.

She stretched out her arms out, cracked her neck from side to side and was just about to look for some clean clothes when two guards appeared at her cell door.

Grinning as they unlocked her door and gestured for her to leave, River sauntered over to them slowly. “Well aren’t I the lucky one today! Getting not one but two handsome escorts for my shower.”

“We are not your shower escorts Dr Song,” one of the guards replied sternly, “Hands out please.”

“Oh, such spoilsports,” River tutted mockingly at him as she held her hands out, rolling her eyes as they carefully snapped the handcuffs onto her wrists and double-checked the locks. “What is it instead? Tea with the governor? Is he missing me already? I only saw him last week.”

Taking her by the elbow, the guard who had spoken first began to steer her down the corridor. “You’re not going to the see the governor Dr Song.”

“Ooh a surprise! Even better!” River threw the guard a wink that he steadfastly ignored as he pushed a button on the wall to call the lift. “I love surprises.”

\--

Taking a deep breath as the heavy metal door clanged shut behind the guard, River tried to calm her breathing and cursed the guards, the governor, her luck, anyone really, in as many different languages as she could. Solitary confinement _again_.

They were blaming her for some temporal disturbances that had been reported around the prison in the past twenty-four hours or so. She’d protested her innocence although she couldn’t really say with all honesty that a future her definitely wasn’t responsible for this. Still, she thought grumpily, it felt a little unfair to be punished for something she hadn’t done yet. Although, she reflected with some irony, it was probably par for course given that she was locked away in the first place for something she hadn't actually done.

Holding out her hands in front of her, River let her eyes adjust to the gloom of the cell. It was less than half the size of her usual cell, and without all the extra ‘adjustments’ that she had added over the last few years. If she stretched both arms out either side of her she could almost touch the opposite walls with her fingertips.

Sighing, she lowered herself onto the narrow cot that was the only piece of furniture in the cell. There was a very small window high up on one wall with just a couple of bars across it through which a very narrow band of light was filtering through. Shutting her eyes briefly, she tried to repress the small shudder that ran through her.

She really _hated_ solitary confinement in Stormcage. Her, River Song. Nemesis of Sontarans and Daleks alike. Scourge of numerous species. Infamous throughout multiple galaxies. And she couldn’t stand this small, dank, dark cell in the depths of the prison. Too many bad memories from her childhood under the Silence.

She swung her legs up onto the bed, not even bothering to kick her shoes off, and once again cursed her luck for taking off her vortex manipulator just before the guards had arrived. Now there was nothing for it but for her to tough this one out.

Settling down on the hard mattress, River stared up into the darkness, trying desperately to fight off the wave of tiredness that was threatening to overwhelm her. She hadn’t slept in days now but the thought of waking up screaming from a nightmare was enough to keep her from trying to sleep here. She’d just have to hope this was a relatively brief solitary confinement this time.

Just as she lay down however, she could’ve sworn she heard a low groan come from the other side of the cell. Propping herself up on her elbows, she peered into the gloom but there was nothing to be seen. Shaking her head, she lay back down again. Her head had scarcely touched the pillow though when she heard it again.

Sitting bolt upright, she stared desperately into the corner of the cell where the noise had come from. “Hello?” she called out into the darkness but there was only answering silence.

“Well that would be typical,” she muttered, shaking her head in frustration, “I would have to get the haunted cell.”

Lying back down again on the sorry excuse for a pillow, she stared up into the darkness, mentally going over her various escape strategies and wondering if she could attract the Doctor’s attention from this cell.

Just as her eyes were starting to drift closed, she heard another sound. This time it was a soft moan followed by something that sounded like a tortured laugh. Forcing her eyes open, she half sat up and stared into the surrounding darkness of the cell.

“Is someone there?” she asked, trying not to let a note of fear into her voice.

Straining to listen, River caught a soft whimper followed by what sounded like mutterings of, “No, no, you’re not real. Don’t do this.”

“Hello?” River called again, more confidently this time, “Is there someone there?”

This time, instead of being met with silence, there was an answering sigh and a whispered reply. “Hello.”

Scrubbing a hand over her eyes, River tried again to see something, anything in the gloom. Peering carefully, she slowly just about made out the figure of a woman slumped against the opposite wall.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded, flinging the meagre blanket aside and sitting bolt upright.

The other woman let out a small laugh, gesturing around her. “Me? I’m just someone going mad.”

“How did you get here?”

“The Judoon. Or that’s how they got me in prison. Somehow anyway, caught me off guard,” the other woman snorted softly in disgust, “Not sure how I’m here though. If I really am?” she added softly.

“What do you mean?”

“One minute I was in my own cell, by myself. Then I thought I could hear someone else but there was no one there,” she explained, shaking her head in confusion, “And then I was here, or I seem to be. In your cell. Except I can’t be,” she added, more to herself this time, “Unless the universe really hates me.”

Leaning forward slightly, River tried to study more carefully the woman who was sat on the floor just a few feet away. She seemed to be wearing some kind of light-coloured coat but that was about all she could make out of her clothing. Her hair was possibly blond, although it was difficult to tell and was hanging limply around her shoulders, suggesting she’d been in prison a few days at least without a shower. Other than that, she couldn’t really make out her features very well at all.

“I think I heard you as well,” River said slowly as the woman looked up at her, “I thought you were a ghost.”

Her companion gave a short sharp laugh, although it sounded suspiciously like it could also be a sob to River, and covered her face with her hands. “What makes you think I’m not?”

“I don’t know,” River admitted with a shake of her head, “Although I’ve never met a ghost with a Yorkshire accent before.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” the other woman laughed bitterly, still with her hands over her face.

Biting her bottom lip in confusion, River slowly swung her legs over the side of the cot, and contemplated her new companion. “The guards earlier… they said there had been some… some temporal disturbances… anomalies in the area. Perhaps that’s how you’re here?”

Nodding her head slowly, the other woman replied, “Temporal displacement? Yes, that could explain it I suppose. Same place, different times. All bleeding into one another. Although I still think the universe might hate me.”

“Well that is always a possibility,” River commented dryly, looking closely around the cell to try and see if she could detect any other abnormalities, “Still, these temporal glitches or displacements. They don’t sound very stable. As much as I appreciate the company, even if you're not real.”

“Oh, I’m sure someone terribly clever will come along and fix it,” her mysterious companion replied wearily, “They usually do.”

“I know someone a bit like that.” River laughed wistfully, “Although his timing is usually dreadful.”

“Yes, I do too,” the other woman mumbled, half to herself, “Or, at least I thought I did.”

Staring at her in puzzlement, River opened her mouth to ask something else but, without meaning to, she yawned widely. “Sorry, this has all been quite a long day.”

“When did you last sleep?” although she couldn’t see her face clearly, River could hear the sudden concern in the other woman’s voice.

“Oh, some time a few days ago,” River said dismissively, desperately trying to stifle another yawn. Now she’d started she didn’t seem able to stop. “I’ll be fine.”

“You need to sleep!”

“No, I’ll be fine, really.”

“Of course, you always say that,” the other woman scolded as River looked at her curiously, “I mean…that sounds like something you would say… but, I mean, really why don’t you sleep now?”

“Well that wouldn’t be very good company of me.”

“I can manage on my own,”

“No, really, I’ll be ok,” River replied shortly.

Her companion stared at her across the cell for a long moment before letting out a soft sigh. “Nightmares?” she asked gently as River tensed.

“How did you…”

Shrugging, the other woman smiled sadly in the darkness, “Lucky guess.” She gestured to the small cot that River was still sitting on, “Go on, I’ll be here.”

Glancing back down at the bed, River hesitated. If she was honest, the idea of sleep was incredibly tempting. Even if it was on a hard, lumpy mattress in a dark solitary cell with a possible ghost for company. “Well, maybe, just for a bit…”

Swinging her legs back up, she lay down again on the cot but this time on her side, facing the far wall so she could still see the other woman.

“I really don’t need to sleep very much,” she protested half-heartedly, although she could feel herself relaxing almost against her will as soon as she lay down.

“You do need some,” her companion chided her gently, “Go on. I’ll be alright here.”

She didn’t really need that much sleep River thought stubbornly, although a short nap now would be a blessed relief, she admitted to herself. Finally giving in to the temptation to yawn again, River closed her eyes briefly before opening them again as a thought struck her.

“You didn’t tell me who you are?”

Letting out a sigh, the other woman let her head fall back against the wall before replying. “I’m not even sure about that right now.”

“That’s very enigmatic,” River muttered around another yawn, “Maybe you are a ghost after all.”

“Maybe I am,” her companion murmured, a pained expression crossing her face as she looked back across at River whose eyes were drifting closed again. “Maybe that’s all we are.”

_Her dreams vary. Sometimes she runs with the Doctor. Sometimes her childhood nightmares recur and she’s back at the orphanage, surrounded by nameless terrors that live on the edges of her memory. But this time she’s back at Lake Silencio. Trapped in the spacesuit and rising out of the water. The Doctor is walking towards her but this time things are different. There’s no Amy, no Rory, no future version of herself._

_She tells him to run, he refuses, tells her she’s forgiven. Her arm rises and she shoots him. This time around, time doesn’t stop and swirl around them. There is no alternate timeline. The gun fires. Once, twice. He falls, stricken, to the ground._

_This time, instead of her parents rushing forward, Madame Kovarian appears in front of her, flanked by the Silence._

_“Well done Melody,” Kovarian smiles triumphantly at her. “It’s over now. He’s dead.”_

_“No, no you’re wrong,” River mutters as she drops to her knees next to the Doctor, her movements awkward in the astronaut suit, “This is all wrong.”_

_“Oh, we figured out that little Teselecta trick a while ago,” Madame Kovarian’s voice mocks her as she desperately runs her hands over his body, searching futilely for any signs of life, “We made sure there weren’t any loopholes this time, don’t worry.”_

_“No, no he can’t be…”_

_“Oh, but he very much is I’m afraid,” Kovarian smirks evilly as River clutches the Doctor’s body to her, tears escaping down her cheeks._

_“No!” River shakes her head desperately, as the tears drop onto his lifeless body “No, no!” she repeats as Kovarian throws her head back and cackles loudly._

_“No! Doctor!”_

“It’s ok, shush, it’s ok,” a soothing voice suddenly cut through her nightmare, above the whimpers which she realised must be coming from herself, and she felt a soft hand brushing the hair away from her face, “It’s just a dream.”

“Just a dream,” River muttered to herself, still half-asleep as she felt her racing pulse slowly settle and she nuzzled further into the comforting touch across her brow. The gentle fingertips moved slowly, carefully to caress through her hair. Just a dream.

“That’s it,” the other voice continued, still speaking in a low soothing tone. The hand that had been gently stroking through her hair now found her hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing softly. “Everything’s alright. It’s just a nightmare. You’ll be ok. Go back to sleep River.”

Something flickered on the fringes of her consciousness at that. Some alarm bell or trigger. Something that she should pay attention to.

Whatever it was, though, she’d think about it when she woke up, River decided. As she drifted back off again, she could’ve sworn she felt the other woman’s lips gently brush the back of her hand and a rather familiar flutter against her mind as sleep finally claimed her under.

\---

**Author's Note:**

> ahh hope you enjoyed! it was supposed to be a bit less angsty than that...anyway, as always, comments make my week!


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